Even if you’re going to say that they were lazy output, they still look far better than VHS, laserdisc, and DVD.
That shouldn’t be the yardstick. I’ve seen the “it’s better than the [insert previous release]” justification for decades, and it doesn’t really cut it. The truth is that you actually have to try to make a Blu-ray bad; excessive DNR and weird sound mixes don’t happen on their own.